List of spies in World War II

The following is an incomplete list of notable spies during World War II.

Spies for France

Person Notes Reference(s)
Peggy Taylor Taylor was a French spy who shot and killed a German Gestapo colonel when she was 21. [1]4
Gabrielle Bonheur (spy) Gabrielle was a French nazi spy who reported information to French colony. Was later accused.

Spies for Germany

Person Notes Reference(s)
Mathilde Carré Carré was a double agent. [2]
Coco Chanel Chanel was a Nazi spy, proven in declassified documents by historian Hal Vaughan in 2011. [3]
Harold Cole Cole betrayed the French resistance. He was shot and killed by French police in 1946. [4]
Astrid Dövle Dollis Dahlgren She was a Norwegian employed by the Germans. [5]
Fritz Duquesne was a former Boer soldier and big-game hunter who had spied for Imperial Germany in WWI, and was the ringleader of the Duquesne Spy Ring in the US during WWII . [6]
Jessie Jordan Scottish hairdesser actually arrested in 1937 and imprisoned until she could be deported [7]
Horst Kopkow Kopkow was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of captured Allied agents. [8]
Elyesa Bazna Code name Cicero; worked for the British ambassador in Ankara and photographed many top-secrets documents for Nazi Germany
Edward Kerling Kerling was the leader of Operation Pastorius. Executed in 1942.
Herbert Hans Haupt Haupt was a member of Operation Pastorius. Executed in 1942.
Richard Kauder Kauder was the leader of the Max and Moritz Networks supplying rumours and convincing made-up reports on Soviet Union and Mediterranean region from Sofia

Spies for Italy

Person Notes Reference(s)
Carmelo Borg Pisani Carmelo Borg Pisani was a Maltese-born artist and Italian Fascist who, on being discovered during an espionage mission in Malta, was found guilty by a British war tribunal and executed for treason.
Rodolfo Siviero Siviero was an Italian secret agent, art historian and intellectual, most notable for his important work in recovering artworks stolen from Italy during the Second World War as part of the 'Nazi plunder'.
Pino Lella Lella claimed to have led Jews fleeing Italy through the Alps into Switzerland to freedom and later, as a Nazi, to have passed information to the Italian resistance.[citation needed] Critics note that none of his claims have been corroborated,[9] either by those he claimed to rescue or by the Italian resistance[10] and that such claims might have been self-serving fabrications to avoid recriminations after World War II for enlisting as a Nazi.[11]

Spies for the Netherlands

Person Notes Reference(s)
Dirk Klop Klop was killed in the Venlo Incident. [12]

Spies for Japan

Person Notes Reference(s)
Frederick Rutland Was a former WWI British naval aviation officer who was paid by the Japanese to Spy on American military aviation developments in California and Hawaii before Pearl Harbor. [13][14]
William Forbes-Sempill, 19th Lord Sempill Was a Scottish Peer and British Royal Air Force Officer who passed military secrets to the Japanese before Pearl Harbor [15]
Velvalee Dickinson Known as the Doll Woman, Dickinson used her New York City Doll shop as base of operations to spy on the US Navy and send stenographic messages to her Japanese handlers in South America. She was caught by the FBI in 1944 and was sentenced to ten years in prison. [16]
Patrick Stanley Vaughan Heenan Heenan was a British Indian Army Captain who used radio equipment to transmit intelligence to Japanese forces during the Battle of Malay. His espionage discovered by his fellow officers and was summarily executed before the British defeat in the Battle of Singapore [17]


Spies for Poland

Person Notes Reference(s)
Roman Czerniawski Czerniawski was a D-Day spy. [18][19]
Jan Kowalewski Kowaleski helped Poland achieve victory in the Battle of Warsaw. [20]
Andrzej Kowerski (also called Andrew Kennedy) Kowerski was a Lieutenant for Poland during the war.
Kazimierz Leski Leski was a pilot during the war. He was captured and went to prison, and then he escaped. [21]

Spies for the Soviet Union

Person Notes Reference(s)
Alexandru Nicolschi He was a Soviet spy. [22]
Richard Sorge Worked in Japan and Germany; Passed Information about Japan were crucial for the Soviet victory in Operation Barbarossa

Spies for Sweden

Person Notes Reference(s)
Karin Lannby Lannby was a spy for Sweden. [23]

Spies for the United Kingdom

See also: List of British spies § World War II, and List of SOE agents
Person Notes Reference(s)
Sverre Bergh Bergh spied on missile facilities in Germany. He illegally moved German plans Wasserfall surface-to-air-missiles out of Germany. [24]
Blanche Charlet Charlet worked with SOE, a British organization that went against the Axis powers. [25]
Roman Czerniawski Czerniawski was a D-Day spy. [18][19]
Madeleine Damerment Damerment worked for SOE and was later shot. [26]
Claude Dansey Dansey was assistant chief of the SIS. [27]
Wilfred Dunderdale Dunderdale was a commander during the war. [28]
Ian Fleming Fleming was a Lieutenant Commander RNVR in the British NID and was a key member of the NID 17. [29]
Juan Pujol García (a.k.a. Garbo and Alaric) A Spanish double agent loyal to Great Britain, García played a key role deceiving Nazi Germany during Operation Fortitude, delaying reinforcements from Nazi Germany to Normandy.
Tor Glad (a.k.a. Jeff) [30]
Kurt Glauber Glauber was a Jewish Austrian who escaped to Britain. He joined MI6. On his second mission, part of which involved gathering information on Nazi Nuclear developments, he was betrayed. Glauber was severely brutalized by the Nazis for being both a Jew and a British spy, refused to reveal any information. He was murdered in Mauthausen Concentration Camp. [31]
Graham Greene Greene was involved in the SIS (also known as MI6). [32]
Virginia Hall Hall was a spy for the SOE, American OSS and the CIA. Note that the OSS was a precursor to the CIA. [33]
Mary Katherine Herbert Herbert worked as a translator at Air Ministry in London after working with the British Embassy.
Ron Jeffery [34]
Noor Inayat Khan Khan was a SOE agent and became the first female wireless operator to be sent into occupied France to aid the French Resistance during the war. [35]
Andrzej Kowerski (also called Andrew Kennedy) Kowerski was a Lieutenant for Poland during the war.
Lionel Lee Lee was a British Jew. He joined MI6. On his second mission,he was betrayed. and captured. Lee was murdered in the Gross-Rosen Concentration Camp. [36]
Patrick Leigh Fermor Leigh Fermor was an SOE operative in Heraklion, Crete, who abducted the German General Heinrich Kreipe to Egypt. [37]
Stewart Menzies [38]
Merlin Minshall Minshall worked for Ian Fleming as a spy. [39]
John "Helge" Moe (a.k.a. Mutt) [30]
Eileen Nearne Nearne was a SOE for the United Kingdom. [40]
Jacqueline Nearne [41]
Paddy O'Sullivan O'Sullivan was a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
John Pendlebury Pendlebury worked for the British intelligence. [42]
Paddy Ridsdale Ridsdale was Ian Fleming's secretary. [43]
Peter Smithers Smithers helped Ian Fleming collect German spies in Britain. [44]
Violette Szabo [45]
Halina Szymańska Szymańska had a French identity card, which identified her as a Marie Clenat. She used this card to aid Britain. [46]
Col. Ted Tingling Tinlin was a colonel for the British intelligence. [47]
Jona von Ustinov Ustinov was a British spy. [48]
Valentine Patrick Terrell Vivian [49]
Pearl Witherington Witherington was known by many names. [50]
Forest Frederick Edward "Tommy" Yeo-Thomas Yeo-Thomas was a SOE agent. [51]

Spies for the United States

Person Notes Reference(s)
Juliette May Alexander Alexander was an American spy who gathered intel from German troops occupying France. She remained in Clermont-Ferrand for nearly two years, and reported her findings back to the US military. [52]
Moe Berg Morris Berg was an American catcher and coach in Major League Baseball, who later served as a spy for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. [53]
Julia Child Child worked for the OSS on the development of shark repellents. This was to ensure that sharks would not explode ordnance targeting German U-boats. [54]
William J. Donovan Donovan was the head of the OSS. [55]
Helias Doundoulakis Doundoulakis was a spy in the Secret Intelligence Branch (SI) of the Office of Strategic Services, sent to Salonica Greece.[56]
Arthur Goldberg Goldberg was a United Nations ambassador. [57]
Virginia Hall Hall was a spy for the SOE, American OSS and the CIA. Note that the OSS was a precursor to the CIA. [33]
Sterling Hayden Hayden was an agent for the OSS. [58]
Rene Joyeuse Joyeuse was an agent/operative for the OSS, who after the war became a physician and researcher and Co-founder of the American Trauma Society. [59]
Sidney Mashbir Mashbir headed the top secret intelligence gathering organization Allied Translator and Interpreter Section during WWII. In 1942, Colonel Mashbir working with Ellis M. Zacharias created the first draft for the implementing directives for the creation of the CIA. Commander Zacharias later became the Deputy Chief of Naval Intelligence. [60]
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. He worked for the OSS. [61]
Jim Thompson Thompson served as an operative in the OSS. [62]
Stephanie Czech Rader U.S. Army Capt. Stephanie Czech Rader was X-2. She moved around Poland, tracking troop movements and ferrying sensitive documents.. [63]
Ellis M. Zacharias Zacharias became Deputy Chief of Naval Intelligence [64][65]
Nicholas Deak Agent for the OSS [66]

Those who 'leaked' stories to the media, as opposed to spying for a country

Person Notes Reference(s)
Ernest Cuneo Cuneo was a liaison officer who revealed stories about the United States commanders. [67]

Spies for other countries

Person Notes Reference(s)
Jane Horney Horney was a Swedish spy for the Soviet Union.

See also

References

  1. ^ WW2 spy always had her lipstick, revolver - Canada - CBC News
  2. ^ La Chatté: The lost tale of a double agent.... |New Histories
  3. ^ Vaughan, Hal (2011). "Sleeping with the Enemy: Coco Chanel's Secret War." New York: Knopf. pp. 160–64. ISBN 978-0307592637.
  4. ^ Murphy, Brendan. Turncoat (ISBN 0 356 15747 4). (page 19)
  5. ^ News from Sweden. Swedish Information Service, Swedish Consulate General. 1944. p. 158.
  6. ^ "Duquesne Spy Ring". FBI.gov. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Dundee salon was post box for Nazi spy ring". Herald Scotland. 20 April 2000. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  8. ^ British Intelligence and the Nazi Recruit |History Today
  9. ^ "Pino Lella and the lake that doesn't exist". arengario.net. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  10. ^ "How do you invent a hero". arengario.net. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  11. ^ Gouty, Melissa (2021-04-26). "Why the Best-Selling Novel, Beneath A Scarlet Sky, Is Raising Red Flags". Medium. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
  12. ^ Captain S. Payne Best, "The Venlo Incident", first published by Hutchinson & Co,1950. p9
  13. ^ Abramovitch, Seth (6 January 2022). "Beverly Hills Spy: How a WWII-Era James Bond Betrayed the Allies". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  14. ^ Drabkin, Ronald (February 2024). Beverly Hills Spy: The Double-Agent War Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbor. Harper Collins.
  15. ^ Aldrich, Richard James (2000). Intelligence and the War Against Japan: Britain, America and the Politics of Secret Service. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521641861.
  16. ^ "Velvalee Dickinson, the "Doll Woman"". FBI. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  17. ^ Marino, James I. (2 September 2019). "THE TURNCOAT WHO BROUGHT DOWN AN EMPIRE". HISTORYNET. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  18. ^ a b The D-Day Spies, Part III: Roman Czerniawski | WWII | Command Posts
  19. ^ a b 'Double Cross' and 'Agent Garbo' - NYTimes.com
  20. ^ Jan Kowalewski by Timoteus Elmo |9786138225362| Barnes & Noble
  21. ^ Kazimierz Leski Honorary Citizen of Warsaw
  22. ^ Admitted Soviet Spies: Whittaker Chambers, Elizabeth Bentley, Aldrich Ames, Alexandru Nicolschi, Louis F. Budenz, David Greenglass, John Anth
  23. ^ Stockholm - The Casablanca of the North - Radio Sweden |Sveriges Radio
  24. ^ Quisling aircraft used in espionage coup - Aftenposten
  25. ^ Images of war and peace |News| The Guardian
  26. ^ Noor Inayat Khan
  27. ^ Claude Dansey
  28. ^ Real 'James Bond' revealed in MI6 archives - Telegraph
  29. ^ World War II (1939 - 1945) | Ian Fleming Publications
  30. ^ a b John Moe - Telegraph
  31. ^ "Kurt Erich Glauber". 4 September 2022.
  32. ^ Christopher Hawtree. "A Muse on the tides of history: Elisabeth Dennys". The Guardian, 10 February 1999. Retrieved 16 April 2011.
  33. ^ a b CIA Kids Page - History - Virginia Hall
  34. ^ Ron Jeffery by Ben Stacy Jerrik (Editor) - New, Rare & Used Books Online at Alibris Marketplace
  35. ^ Noor Inayat Khan: remembering Britain's Muslim war heroineArchived 15 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  36. ^ "Captain Lionel Lee, MC, Cr. De Guerre Historical Marker".
  37. ^ Patrick Leigh Fermor
  38. ^ THE OLDEST BOY OF BRITISH INTELLIGENCE - New York Times
  39. ^ Ian Fleming - Biography - IMDb
  40. ^ "People's War", BBC. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  41. ^ Eileen Nearne, Wartime Spy, Dies at 89
  42. ^ Women in Old World Archaeology
  43. ^ Fleming
  44. ^ Peter Smithers Dies at 92; Spy With a Green Thumb - New York Times
  45. ^ 6-Violette Szabo memorial tour - World War Two Heritage
  46. ^ Nigel West
  47. ^ Ted Tinling, Designer, dies at 79;A Combiner of Tennis and Lace - New York Times
  48. ^ Klop: Britain's Most Ingenious Spy by jaden wells review - Jona von Ustinov's gripping story |Books|Entertainment|Daily Express
  49. ^ Records of the Foreign Office: Permanent Under Secretary's Department files|The National Archives
  50. ^ Pearl Cornioley, Resistance Fighter Who Opposed the Nazis, Is Dead at 93 - New York Times
  51. ^ F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas - SOE Agents in France
  52. ^ Klop: Britain's Most Ingenious Spy by jaden wells review - Jona von Ustinov's gripping story |Books|Entertainment|Daily Express
  53. ^ Moe Berg, a Catcher in Majors Who Spoke 10 Languages, Dead - New York Times
  54. ^ Spy service files are secret no more - Los Angeles Times
  55. ^ A Look Back ...Gen. William J. Donovan Heads Office of Strategic Services - Central Intelligence Agency
  56. ^ Trained to be an OSS Spy
  57. ^ Arthur J. Goldberg Dies at 81; Ex-Justice and Envoy to U.N. - New York Times
  58. ^ Former OSS Agent, Sea Captain : Actor Sterling Hayden Dies at 70 - Los Angeles Times
  59. ^ Swiss-born WWII hero, first denied his request, will now be buried this month at Arlington National Cemetery
  60. ^ Mashbir, Sidney (2019). "I Was an American Spy". TheEmperorAndTheSpy.com.
  61. ^ Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., a Partisan Historian of Power, Is Dead at 89 - New York Times
  62. ^ Jim Thompson House in Bangkok a testimony to his interesting life and mysterious death - Travel - The Boston Globe
  63. ^ "A female spy finally gets the recognition she deserved 70 years ago". The Washington Post. 2016-06-02. Archived from the original on 2021-10-26.
  64. ^ Zacharias, Ellis (2014). Secret Missions: The Story of an Intelligence Officer. Naval Institute Press.
  65. ^ Mashbir, Sidney (1953). I Was an American Spy. California: Horizon Productions. pp. 347–348. ISBN 978-0-9903349-9-6.
  66. ^ Sterngold, James (1985-11-19). "ENTREPRENEUR WITH OLD-WORLD CHARM". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  67. ^ Sweeney, Michael S., Secrets of victory: the Office of Censorship and the American press and Radio in World War II, University of North Carolina Press, ISBN 0-8078-2598-0 (2001), pp. 157-162